Interdisciplinary research in the Geosciences: a view from early career scientists

Abstract. Geosciences are often described as interdisciplinary, yet research and training remain fragmented across sub-disciplines and institutions. To understand how early career scientists (ECS) experience and practice interdisciplinarity, and which support structures actually help, we conducted an online survey within the German Geo.X research network. This yielded 151 valid responses that were included in the analysis. Participants broadly value interdisciplinarity for fostering the exchange of ideas across disciplines, providing novel perspectives, and enhancing their capacity to address complex problems. At the same time, they report recurrent barriers that directly affect research efficiency and career progression, including incompatible terminologies, different working speeds, and diverging publication strategies. The results indicate that strengthening interdisciplinary geosciences requires not only incentives for collaboration, but also training in cross-disciplinary communication, and transparent publication and evaluation pathways that acknowledge the increasing coordination efforts. Research networks such as Geo.X provide a strong foundation for initiating advancing interdisciplinary collaboration and can serve as effective instruments. Network structures are particularly well-suited to this purpose, as they are flexible enough to test new formats and innovative ideas as pilot projects. This requires that their initiatives are clearly communicated, easily accessible, and well aligned with the working realities of early career scientists, while also reducing coordination costs by fostering continuity, shared reference frames, and trust across sub-disciplines.